The African Union forces in Somalia(AMISOM) say they are prepared to ensure stability in Mogadishu now thatEthiopian troops have completed their troop withdrawal from the Somali capital.City residents reported seeing scores of AMISOM troops coming into the capital,ostensibly to maintain peace. Some Somali political analysts believeyesterday's completion of the Ethiopian withdrawal would leave a power vacuum,which Islamic hardliners, including al-Shabab could take advantage of to seizecontrol of the capital. So far, the al-Shabab insurgent group have reportedlyambushed the departing soldiers and also clashed with other militias in adeepening power struggle between rebel factions. AMISOM spokesman Major BarigyeBa-Huko tells reporter Peter Clottey the African Union would add troops soon toaugment the peacekeeping efforts of AMISOM.
"Whatwe know from Mogadishu is that the African Union Commission has been discussingthe matter with the troop-contributing countries. The two that already havetroops on the ground, plus some other countries that had previously pledgedtroops, and the general trend and the general idea is that there should be moretroops coming into the mission area -- two battalions, one each from Uganda andBurundi, and possibly another one from Nigeria in the not far future," Major Ba-Huko said.
He said the agreementbetween the government and the opposition in Djibouti made provisions to ensurestability after Ethiopia withdraws troops from Mogadishu and other areas inSomalia.
"You know that the Djiboutiagreement stipulated clearly that the Ethiopian troops had to withdraw within120 days after the signing of the agreement. And so the troops have been awareof this, and the commanders have been aware, and they are preparing theirsoldiers to fit into the places that Ethiopians are leaving," he said.
Major Ba-Huko said theDjibouti agreement laid the down the grounds to take care of a possible powervacuum after the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops.
"The agreement alsostipulated that the gaps or the vacuum left by Ethiopian troops would be filledby of the troops of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) and theTransitional Federal Government (TFG). And so as we speak today, what is goingon in Mogadishu is that ARS and TFG on one hand, and AMISOM on the other, arecoordinating and are consulting to ensure that each group knows where it shouldgo to control. And sooner rather than later, we should be able to get out ofthat, and the deployments would be done," Major Ba-Huko pointed out.
He said although many peoplehave been pessimistic about the Djibouti agreement, the agreement seems to beworking.
"I am not only hopeful, butI think it is the reality. The agreement, initially there were many skepticsand pessimists, but eventually Sheik Sharif and the delegation arrived in thecountry in early December, and since then, they have been moving around. Theyhave been holding meetings and consultations. And therefore to me, thisagreement is a reality. And what remains is the good will of all of the peopleof Somalia to ensure that their will is established," he said.
Major Ba-Huko said there aresome elements who are opposed to a stable Somalia.
"Obviously, it is understoodthat there are some factions that would possibly resist the peace process.There are those who have been benefiting from this chaos, and they are scaredof peace. So those detractors, over a period of time need to be convinced, andthey need to be persuaded to embrace peace," Major Ba-Huko pointed out.
He said most Somalis aretired of the absence of an effective government, which had culminated in instabilityin the country.
"I think most importantly,the people of Somalia are tired of war. The population is very tired of thiswar that has lasted for the last 18 years. And that is the premise on which tobuild because with a tired population, I think they would support the peaceprocess with all their heart for peace to return to Somalia," he said.